1920 Moving the World's Cargo

Oakland built the 9th Avenue Terminal to load and unload break-bulk cargo – goods packed in individual crates, barrels, and bags, rather than in standardized containers. It's a method of shipping that requires a lot of manpower, and for decades after the big shipping boom of the 1920s, it was standard operating procedure. That is, until 1956, when a businessman named Malcolm McLean shipped 58 35-foot metal containers from Newark to Houston. Just two years later, in the Pacific, Matson Navigation Company followed suit, sending a shipment of containers from Alameda to Honolulu. As containerized shipping took off, the gains in efficiency were enormous. Ships that used to spend three weeks at port could now spend just 18 hours, and containers could go straight from a ship to a truck or railroad car. For the 9th Avenue Terminal, the beginning of containerization meant a slow decline in relevance. .